Transferring NFA items to different guns

One of the guys at work said that on your paperwork, you have to declare the gun that your item will be used for, and that it can only be used for that firearm (i.e. if you get a suppressor, it can only be affixed to one firearm; an upper can only be put on one lower, etc.). Is that correct, or since the NFA item is a separate entity, can you swap it out amongst various guns?

Thanks, all.

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hirundo82

November 7, 2011, 10:45 PM

Depends on what is considered the gun for the purposes of the NFA. Silencers are considered a firearm on their own and can be put on whatever host you want. Same with some machineguns--a RDIAS is a gun for NFA purposes and can be used in multiple guns.

With things like a SBR, whatever would be the gun in the Title I equivalent is still the gun (usually the receiver). So for a SBR AR15, the lower is the gun, and you can't swap the short-barreled upper to another rifle receiver without getting a stamp for the other receiver as well.

medalguy

November 7, 2011, 11:35 PM

Here's a variant. I have a registered Colt M16 with standard length barrel. Could I change the upper out and put a short barreled upper on the registered lower?

Ironman

November 8, 2011, 07:47 AM

Medalguy...yes...registered machine guns are expempt from SBR rules. You can throw what ever length upper you want on that badboy. Any caliber too! ;)

To the OP, your co-worker doesnt know what hes talking about. You can use a registered sear or silencer on any host that they will work with.

MIgunguy

November 8, 2011, 09:18 AM

your co-worker doesnt know what hes talking about
agreed

TexasRifleman

November 8, 2011, 09:27 AM

your co-worker doesnt know what hes talking about

Pretty much.

Suppressors with their own tax stamp (not integral to the barrel) can be moved from gun to gun with no problems.

Machineguns are, by definition, NOT legal firearms under GCA but NFA, so they are not subject to any of the GCA rules, only NFA.

In other words there is no such thing as an SBR'd machine-gun. GCA says a Title 1 rifle can't have a barrel under 16". OK that's fine, since a registered lower for example isn't a Title 1 firearm to begin with. So, it can have whatever barrel length you want.

MasterSergeantA

November 8, 2011, 10:19 AM

Everything said above is correct and I am guessing that your question was more specifically related to suppressors than anything else. All I would add is that, in some cases (specifically the HK family), there are restrictions about what you can do with the sear because of the 'marriage' that has to occur between the sear and the gun itself. Another odd circumstance is using a 'Masterkey' type of system to put a short-barreled shotgun on an AR. You can do it with the SBS, but cannot with the same shotgun registered as an AOW. The AR becomes the "stock" when the AOW is attached.

Isn't NFA fun?

Quiet

November 8, 2011, 10:35 AM

Everything said above is correct and I am guessing that your question was more specifically related to suppressors than anything else. All I would add is that, in some cases (specifically the HK family), there are restrictions about what you can do with the sear because of the 'marriage' that has to occur between the sear and the gun itself. Another odd circumstance is using a 'Masterkey' type of system to put a short-barreled shotgun on an AR. You can do it with the SBS, but cannot with the same shotgun registered as an AOW. The AR becomes the "stock" when the AOW is attached.

Just for clarification, the NFA is part of the GCA. In 1968, the old Federal Firearms Act (FFA) and the old National Firearms Act (NFA) became (with some changes) Titles 1 and 2 of the Gun Control Act, with the notation that those titles could be referred to under their old names for convenience.

Jim

MasterSergeantA

November 8, 2011, 03:26 PM

Quiet,

Thanks...big time! That changes the ball game for me by a big margin. I think I will send my own letter to be safe, but it is a nice change of opinion (likely to change back, but who knows) and suits my needs just fine.

Quiet

November 8, 2011, 03:59 PM

The answer shouldn't change, because I believe Lage Mfg also got the same answer last year. They sought clarification on if the status of NFA firearms change when mounted/combined, prior to assembling the Lage Mfg MAX-41A (which had an AOW mounted on a MG).

MasterSergeantA

November 9, 2011, 11:32 AM

One would certainly hope the answer wouldn't change. But I am reminded of the Akins Accelerator debacle. Figure it is nice to have my own letter in hand should someone not know the law. And if the winds shift, the worst I should have to contend with would likely be confiscation.

I like Richard's MAX-41A a lot. I just wish he was planning to make more than a prototype. He isn't far from me and is a great guy, not to mention pretty much a genius.

kimberkid

November 13, 2011, 05:56 PM

One would certainly hope the answer wouldn't change. But I am reminded of the Akins Accelerator debacle.The item Akins sent to our friends at the BTAFE and got approval for was not the same item he sold to consumers ...
... which was the reason for the retraction of approval.

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